Love And Peace and smithereens
by da punked-out gym bunny
Summary: Sorceress' sniper is VASH the Stampede. Major goofy then very serious. Ch 11. Rinoa muttered sadly, “I saw Seifer. He could have helped me but instead he turned me in.” "And you committed suicide. Stranger things are known to happen."
1. joining the party

Author: I do not own Squaresoft. Squaresoft owns me, and I say so willingly. I owe them much of my life in one way or another. As always, the characters belong to their amazing creators, and to their avatars.   
The idea of "commuting between worldmaps" as if it were merely longdistance comes from an FF7/8 spoof titled Explained.   
One other note. Thoughts are parentheses inside quotations. "(Like so.)"   
  


_Love! And! Peace! (and smithereens)_   
  
Ch 1, _Joining the 'party'_

  
  
"The instructions say 'by means of a sniper'," Squall was explaining to their temporary superior officer, while the rest of his team stood in a line behind him at the entrance of Galbadia Garden. "We have no one with that skill."   
  
"One has already been arranged for you," the commander answered, and gestured towards the campus lawn.   
  
Reclining in a tree, the teenager clad in blazing red jacket reachng his feet, hard black boots, and black gloves, gazed upwards at a yellow butterfly. His youthful face was topped off with short blonde hair all standing upright, and glasses of zig zag earpieces and tinted round hippie lenses.   
  
The butterfly's ballet landed it in a spider's web tucked across a Y of branches, so he stretched up and gently released it, all the while not disturbing the ornate web. The freed creature continued on its way as the young gunslinger sighed dramatically to himself.   
  
"Yoo-hoo!" a Selphie Tilmitt called, breaking the zen moment.   
  
The incredibly agile athlete startle to discover five people with their eyes on him, three of them pretty girls. And promptly fell out of the tree.   
  
Zell took a shine to the stylish guy on sight and was the first to step right up and make acquaintances. But the newest member blew on by him and went straight for the ladies; he shook hands by pumping their arms all the way up and down like he was trying to teach them to fly.   
  
"Extremely pleased to meet you, call me (it's a new world where nobody's heard the horrible nasty rumors about me so I can finally go somewhere and use my real name without fear, hooray!) Vash!"   
  
With most names in the world sounding equally exotic, his blended right in.   
  
Before the group could reply, a local smooth-featured SeeD in suave beige cowboy attire interrupetd the introductions. "I don't know how you did it, partner. Walking in off the worldview begging for a chance, then catapulting straight from the placement test to the SeeD exam, and getting your honors all in one day. That's a mighty lot to bite off all at once, so I tip my cap to you." And so he did, trying for all he was worth to look gracious instead of very, very wounded at being shown up so radically -- and at his own weaponry field.   
  
Quistis was shocked at the prodigy too. "One day?"   
  
Vash was trying to shake off his sudden fame. "Come on now, it wasn't that incredible. I simply did my best, and came through it okay. That was all."   
  
"Until now I held the record for promotions from recruit to Seed, two years. One day makes me feel... un-superior. Slipping towards average. Mediocre," she mourned to herself.   
  
A member of her team overheard and idled over. "Don't you also hold the record for making it to Instructor? As long as this guy Vash doesn't get to teach, you're all set," Zell provided cheerily.   
  
"Thank you, Mr. Know It All," Quistis retorted, annoyed she'd let some of her rue leak into her tone. Worse, someone *noticed* she'd lost her cool. "Why don't you make yourself useful and go work out some more?"   
  
"All-RIGHT!" The hyper martial artist gleefully backed off a few paces and *whiffed* a few punches through the air.   
  
The instructor rolled her eyes. "(If I threw a stick, would he chase it?)"   
  
Meanwhile, Squall was just sickened by the varying degrees of envy among the ex-instructor and the gunslinging Irvine. "(Who cares how fast somebody else advanced. You both made it so you have nothing to complain about.)" But since he hadn't opened his mouth, no one heard him.   
  
Except for Quistis, who responded with a "Thank you. That was very insightful, sensitive and kind."   
  
The leader frowned. "(I wasn't trying to be any of that. And how did you hear me, since I didn't actually speak to any of you?" It almost, but not quite, managaed to avoid sounding derogatory.   
  
"By now I figured out how to translate 'silence'. Handy, wouldn't you agree?"   
  
"..."   
  
"Yes, we should get moving already," Rinoa spoke up in agreement to the unspoken.   
  
"(Oh great, one more of you is all I needed.)"   
  
"One more of us what?" Zell chimed.   
  
A silent moan of frustration made the three near-telepaths flinch or smirk, as the case may be.   
  
"We're moving out?" The newcomer Vash had missed much of what had transpired but picked up on the proposal. "It makes sense to divide our group. Might I suggest--" and then he shuffled the teens around by pushing at their backs, with them frozen in pose and sliding along on their heels simply like furniture being moved.   
  
Squall and Zell stood next to Rinoa, and on the other end Vash had placed himself in between Selphie and Quistis, a bright half-rainbow of pink, red, yellow.   
  
This trio seemed pleased, and so did Rinoa. The tattooed boy nudged his team leader. "Trade me for Quistis! A trip with those two looks like fun!" he whispered in Squall's ear, not overheard by the rest of the fighters but loud enough to mar an eardrum.   
  
Squall eyed them all. If Zell joined Selphie and Vash, that would put the unknown graduate and *both* walking sugar rush victims off by themselves. More importantly, he'd be left with only the half-baked resistence member and the former instructor, who was as far as he knew the only teammate inclined towards stability and sanity here. "(Usually)," he amended, recalling grad night. Both females tended to get too up-close-and-personal for his comfort - "(didn't everyone?)" - but --it dawned on him-- their kind of drama, they'd tend to save until he was alone, so together they'd sort of cancel each other out. It was tempting. Very tempting. Squall licked his lips as he thought it over. No, he couldn't. The two caffeine junkies needed a babysitter, and someone experienced should break in the maverick as well. "No. It's fine the way it is."   
  
The girls remained happy, although Quistis frowned at the idea of their head of authority seeming to bow in submission to the upstart. Holding a torch for a boy who chose to tell her to talk to a wall was one thing, but believing in someone who wasn't strong enough to hold his position was another. Then Squall remembered to designate her the head of their group, much to her relief, both that she retained a shred of command and that her faith in the boy's mettle hadn't been in vain.   
  
At the party designations, Zell blurted out "You suck!" and then settled in for the journey, while Squall made a point of showing how little the blonde's opinion meant to him.   
  
  
  
Da author: Managed to keep this chapter short. Up next, a 'Field' Trip. Luff you all! 


	2. field trip

Notes: I had fun with this, so I hope you do too! These characters, their personalities and objectives, were easy to merge and I'm trying to stay true to the spirit of Trigun episodes too.   
  


Love! And! Peace! (and smithereens)   
Ch 2, _'Field' trip_

  
  
"On my Final Exam I was a messenger girl." The three were breaking the ice and well on their way towards getting acquainted.   
  
"Communications Liason in charge of ensuing clear and precise informational ineterchange between coordinating personnel," Quistis corrected matter-of-factly. This girl knew how to write a job description, alright.   
  
"Communications Liason in charge of telling our guys the party's over, you don't have to go home but you can't stay here, unless you want to park your butt overseas for the rest of your life," Selphie repeated, deepening her natural squeal to match the pitch of the older girl, and giggled.   
  
"It sounds important," Vash said supportively.   
  
"And it should have been easy too. But one Mr. Squad Leader had to make me chase him up and down cliffs and towers before he could get his message, and then we all got chased by a big evil black metal robot killer bug. And if we died, they would have had to tell my friends back at Trabia that I got SQUISHED BY A BUG, and that would have been funny if you think about it, so they probably would laugh and not believe it at first, but really it would suck to be dead, but then we didn't get swatted because Quistis fired at it, pow-pow-pow-pow-pow, and then we were all safe and done and we got to go home and party."   
  
She paused precisely long enough to suck in one quick breath then exclaimed, "Hey Quistis, you saved my life, WOO-HOO!" With that, the triumphant redhead glomped onto the more dignified woman, and hugged her while hopping up and down.   
  
Next thing they knew, Vash had to innocently join in too, and between the both of them Quistis was actually pulled up off her feet. At home, the Trepies hadn't been this bold. Too bad her maturity prevented simply Laser Eye Beaming them. Besides, her body wasn't geared up for a Limit Break right now anyway.   
  
Instructor Trepe extracted herself, leaving Selphie and Vash jumping and hugging onto each other, quite a happy sight. Eventually the sunny-dispositioned girl slipped out as well, so the boy had his arms wrapped around two feet of empty airspace for a minute before noticing the difference. When he found himself alone, he quit jumping, played with his glasses, coughed quietly, and tried to regain his composure.   
  
"So what did you have to do to pass?" Selphie picked up right where she'd left off.   
  
"I suppose you could call it routine; I wouldn't really know since your school is new to me," he began in a humble "go easy on me" tone.   
  
Quistis glanced his way, her lips a thin hard line. "(So you're new. Rub it in, prodigy.)"   
  
"An instructor observed. I had to confirm the identity of a deceased SeeD-" He frowned at this. Hard. "Then I faced a couple of irate shrine guardians, held them off to a standstill and truce, then freed a trapped soul on its way to the Afterlife."   
  
"Wow! You did all that by yourself? SUPER DUPER!"   
  
"It wasn't really anything more special than trying my best," he modestly reported. Then he switched gears and hammed it up, trying to impress and win over the girls. "Actually, they tell me it was pretty spectacular!" Yes, they seemed reasonably impressed.   
  
Then a troubled thought brought a fretful expression to his face. "One thing about those immortal earth spirits..."   
  
"Yes?"   
  
He gulped. "My body is now co-possessed by two tough blue minotaurs. Uh, should I be worried?" Firmly stationed inside his head, the Brothers Minotaur and Sacred laughed.   
  
Quistis twitched. "(A SeeD who doesn't know what a Guardian Force is? Is he truly an exceptional prodigy or was the entire thing a fluke?)" She eyesd him suspiciously, hand resting on her chin, and attempted to size him up. Evaluating his true skills was difficult based on present behavior alone.   
  
Selphie answered for her. "Nope. No problem at all with the spirits. By the way, when we met you haven't told us the rest of your name."   
  
Vash opened his mouth to speak, then halted as the word inexplicably escaped him. He concentrated to himself a moment, and came up with nothing more than an echo of the Sacred brothers' deep-throated rumbles. Eyes popped and yellow-tinted spectacles fell off. "I can't explain this, but I'm having some trouble remembering."   
  
Quistis gave a sweatdrop for pity on his behalf. The man was nothing more than an idiot savant. She was sure of it. And the SeeD trial had to be pure dumb luck. She'd have a piece to say about the state of Galbadia Garden's administration for letting this slip by when she returned to headquarters, that was for certain.   
  
"(I know my last name is not really 'the Stampede' or 'Humanoid Typhoon' although people used to call me that a lot.... Come on, what is it really? Think, Vash, think.)" So far he had no difficulty recalling names, faces, and hearts of people during his earliest years, but this one fact eluded him.   
  
"Until you figure it out, how about we call you Typhoon?" Selphie spoke up.   
  
The legendary gunman was taken by surprise. "H-how did you guess-- I mean, come up with that?"   
  
"You remind me of another soldier who I met. He's brave, funny, charming, handsome, tall, funny, cute, handsome--"   
  
"Does this have anything to do with how you feel about 'Sir' Laguna?" Quistis teased and brought the fan of the man with the machine gun to a moment of quiet.   
  
"Aw come on, she said I remind her of somebody cool, brave, funny, charming--" Vash murmured, pleased for himself.   
  
"Anyway, his first name means water, so Vash should get a water force too."   
  
The man tried to decide how he felt about it, and made up his mind that as long as the girl thought he was cool she could call him anything she liked.   
  
Right about then was when the first round of monsters attacked.   
  
**********   
  
Off in the other party, Rinoa had her sights lined up. The little monster squiggled in place, waving its limbs, while she reviewed her pointers. Okay, raise her right arm a little more at the shoulder, bend her elbow a little less, hold her wrist down so her hand is safely out of the way, and move her left arm inwards so she can get her left hand on the crossbow's firing mechanism.... any second now....   
  
And Zell Dincht popped in the way, creamed the wildlife with a single two-shot combo, and hopped back into place the second the beast died.   
  
The monster's bad-boy buddies were deceased as well. In the final tally, Squall had decapitated one, Zell had hammered four, and Rinoa had fired one non-lethal shot dropping her lone target's hit points by a third.   
  
"Squa-aaaaalll!" she whined. "He keeps stealing kills from me!"   
  
"And she keeps bugging me about it!"   
  
The leader in question sighed. "(No wonder Quistis calls us all _children_.)" Wait. Quistis? Was he missing her? Could be, maybe a little.   
  
Whatever. If he was, he couldn't do anything about it right now, so he put it out of his mind.   
  
Back to the problem at hand. Too bad he couldn't just tell them how to act-- shut up and fight monsters instead. Oh. He was team leader. He could.   
  
"Rinoa. Shoot faster and you'll get more kills and experience."   
  
"But I need to _aim_!" she pleaded, and stamped a foot.   
  
"Then _aim_ faster." Duh. "Zell."   
  
"Yeah?"   
  
"The next troupe of enemies, don't attack. Kill time by, uh, drawing magic instead."   
  
"Oh yeah?! And what are you gonna do?"   
  
A glance kept the Asian girl in view while she skipped ahead in search of dangerous critters to use as target practice. When she was out of earshot and critical risk of a hissy fit, Squall answered, "Keeping us both Cured while we get attacked waiting for her to fight."   
  
"Gotcha." Zell nodded understandingly.   
  
** ********   
  
~ Vash poetry ~   
  
Animals do not have the luxury of free will. They move by instinct   
  
whether it leads to survival of the race   
  
or disaster.   
  
But for human beings   
  
can they truly claim to always have this privilege? When a person is hurting   
  
or confused   
  
are their actions then a matter of free will? Should it be held against them any more than one can blame   
  
the harvest, treated with pesticides   
  
for carrying poison?   
  
  
  
Quistis and Selphie were ready to mop up the field with the first batch of monsters to appear in their way. Resolute metal of the whip and nunchucks flung out, each striking their owner's chosen enemy.   
  
Incredibly, the creatures stood firm. They hadn't yet learned the devastating power of small, mortal humans. If the SeeDs didn't back down either, the fight would go on until all of one side died. Vash cried out, "You really plan to kill them?"   
  
Selphie watched for her next opportunity to swing. "They're monsters," she shrugged.   
  
"But it's not like they mean anything by it! Ow!" While he'd let himself get distracted, one of them had zapped him with Thunder, making his hair stand on end. Never mind, it already did that.   
  
Quistis shot him a look while readying a Potion. "They attack humans and everything else. Their numbers are out of control and scientists hypothesize none of them are native to this habitat or even this world."   
  
"That may be, but--" he began apologetically, "They're just animals who don't know any better. And besides, they're living creatures. Emphasis on _living_?!" But begging wasn't going to call the battle off. He had to step in and fast. From the hip he fired one shot, rising upwards towards the largest target's skull.   
  
His bullet slipped past the side of its head by a free inch or two, and plunged into the Galbadian mountain range behind the line of monsters. The lightning-fast shell dislodged a stone the size of a human fist, plus its neighbors wedged alongside; as those rocks dropped away they took with it the support for the boulder above them. Granite the size of a charging bull pitched forward and careened downwards, and the group of monsters spooked and ran just as the low meteor whammed the turf where they'd made their stand seconds ago. The impact and fleeing creatures left only prints and an uneven row of flattened craters in the grass and soil.   
  
"I think this is the first incident in recorded history that normal monsters ran from a battle," Quistis observed, bemused.   
  
  
  
Da author: Share the love, man, share the love. REVIEW. Aw heck if I suck, say that too and STILL gimme a post! This is getting updated regularly, so I'll keep you posted too. 


	3. StarryEyed Surprise

Notes: This chapter took *forever*. Plenty of others coming *after* this just flowed along, but nooo, this one stalled out for months to wrap up. Ert! After this there are other chapters sitting waiting to be published and should come faster. And here's where we start to begin couples pairing.   


Love! And! Peace! (and smithereens)   
  
Ch 3, _Starry-Eyed Surprise_

  
  
* * * * * * * *   
  
The jaunt to the train station was a short one, and so should be the leg between Galbania Garden and Galbania City.   
  
Ms. Trepe stood off to the side of the side of the chamber with her upper back leaning against the wall, legs casually crossed at the ankle, arms folded, and the bent whip idly swinging against her pink attire. Selphie was putting on a demonstration of all the expertise she retained of SeeD infiltration techniques... backtalking the defiant portal that mocked her by staying locked.   
  
Vash started forward to lend a hand, but Quistis gently grasped his jacket. He turned to look back and she shook her head, smiling. After a second's indecision he joined her, leaning in a mirror pose by her side. All that was missing was popcorn.   
  
The spunky girl gave it her best shot. She jumped up and down waving her arms telling the door to open, open, open. She asked nicely. She pleaded. She scolded and chastized it. She told it how happy it would make her if she could reach the pretty row of windows on the other side. The silent taunting persisted.   
  
In the end Selphie rapped the card scanner with the chain-bolted tips of her nunchucks, like swatting a puppy on the nose with a rolled-up newspaper. "Bad door, _bad_."   
  
"How about telling it 'Pretty please with sugar on top'?"   
  
"Zell!"   
  
Preceeded by the smirking blonde, the other half of the group filed in. The cool air conditioning, polished metal enclosure, and promise of a room of thoughtfully provided furniture and cushions seemed all the more comforting after a trek through the wild. The rejoined teams exchanged greetings.   
  
With a swift observation Squall surveyed his crew. The spunky girl's beg for admission would be inevitable, so he had best deal with it in advance.   
  
The access card from the earlier journey shouldn't still be valid this time, but it was worth a shot. By some miracle it hadn't deactivated, and the SeeDs could help themselves to the furnished accomodations. "Thanks! That was sooo nice," Selphie chirruped, flashing a sunny smile of gratitude over her shoulder before skipping merrily ahead.   
  
The gunblader scowled. He was just anticipating a problem and dealing with the situation ahead of time. "Nice" had nothing to do with it, so why did people insist on crediting him with feelings like this?   
  
The chipper one took up her favorite station in the bright hallway with her palms lightly resting on the windowsill. Out of nowhere the Trabian sang Selphie's patented ditty, with the type of melody you could hear playing from an ice cream truck. Can't take a ride without singing the train theme. It's not only tradition, it's fun!   
  
Rinoa and Zell were ready to move on as well. Those two had chummed up nicely during the short excursion. Once the hyper brawler quit seething over the slow progress, he roused to the idea of offering tips instead. "Are you ready for what we talked about, without the monsters being a distraction?"   
  
Now he waited in front of the doorway hopping impatiently while Rinoa spoke to Squall. "We're going to try out some of his suggestions. Don't you want to join me?" she asked coyly.   
  
Silence. She asked again. "No." She rather insisted.   
  
Squall muttered, "Instructor is neither my rank nor my obligation. You already found someone who doesn't mind you being an _imitation_, so I suggest you take your advice from him."   
  
She froze starkly as if fighting the reflex to sniffle, then popped her tongue out of her mouth and with a "Who needs you?" she whirled into the hallway. Before exiting, Zell met Squall's eyes and gave a look that could be either chastizement or scoffing, then went on his way.   
  
Alone with Squall and Quistis, Vash sized up his odds of making any kind of headway with the female elite as long as another person, silent and stoic or not, was present to put a damper on the atmosphere. Shrugging, he glanced at the remaining companions as if wondering why he was still hanging around here, and sincerely excused himself. The tall sharpshooter entered the corridor to try his luck with the one girl currently unaccompanied.   
  
The mechanized door remained open a minute longer before sliding closed. Airy singing floated through, the youths apparently sharing a whimsical serenade. Squall had no need for it. Given a choice of halfcocked sparring, teenagers who still sing nursery rhymes, or Quistis, the decision was final. He stayed put.   
  
A not too quiet sound behind him turned his attention to the occupant sooner. The ex-instructor was chuckling with one hand covering her mouth again, and small shakes rippling down the front of her pink dress. Squall deduced she'd been laughing over his exchange with Rinoa. What was funny about it? All he'd been speaking was the truth.   
  
* * * * * * * *   
  
A poser. Imagine! If anything, _she'd_ been a Forest Owl longer than _he'd_ been a SeeD, so who was he to complain? And not just any crewmate, she was the boss, and nobody better forget it!   
  
Then again, there was a reason his criticism landed personally. Somewhere along the line, she had become Squall's admirer. Not only would she win him over by measuring up to _his_ standards, she'd show that autonomous boy she wasn't _dependent_ on him either.   
  
If there was one thing she learned from her mother the former singer, it was that if a man knows you'll wait for him sitting at home no matter what, he'll take you for granted and neglect you. Rinoa had already tasted it herself, waiting since last summer unsure whether "someone" was her boyfriend or not.   
  
Her current strategy was no different than at the dance she infiltrated to contact Cid, or --let's not forget who she was especially there to see -- Seifer. Her plan while coming to Garden was that he'd witness a show of her popularity when he found her charming the other SeeDs, both to demonstrate she could fit in with his friends and to remind him he wasn't the only star in the sky. But the boy she'd picked up as a distraction had taken the lead position in her infatuations.   
  
Of course, the strategy intended to impress her beau in both cases required leaving her crush to waste time with somebody else, a decoy. Could it be she was... _using_ these boys?   
  
"Think about what you're doing."   
  
Rinoa jumped. It was Zell. How could he have? "What?"   
  
* * * * * * * *   
  
"Train, train, take me away. Take me away, far away. Off to the future we will go." Selphie was in bliss. Her neck craned this way and that to soak up all the sights of the countryside   
  
The humanoid typhoon waited out the song while she was occupied with it. Then at last came a chance to talk. But the pause in between verses only made him more uncomfortable. What to say? Normally as one way to open up, he'd make an offer of free bodyguard services or somesuch. Come to think of it, that line could open a _lot_ of possibilities in the way of getting up-close-and-personal in the name of "duty". But this girl was a fighter and would have no need of protection; she'd only giggle in his face. Aw who was he kidding, the guy got shot down so much even kids poked him about it.   
  
But while the humanoid typhoon was standing there tonguetied, Selphie had no problems speaking. "Did you come out here to see _me_?" she joked.   
  
How right she was.   
  
* * * * * * * *   
  
The most popular teacher of Garden straightened under his scrutiny. She confidently broke the frosty new silence with "You chose well when you assigned groups. Each of them seemed to be getting on well." She left out her own reaction to the rather clumsy, inadept prodigy.   
  
Squall's response was predictible. "(We had one thing to do, which was to get here. Our presence is all the explaination you need to prove we did it. How they feel about it is...) ...no concern of mine."   
  
Quistis nodded; she'd seen it coming and understood. "I suppose I needn't ask your opinion of how the excursion went then. Ours was remarkable for the fact that none of us got any experience whatsoever out of the trip."   
  
That was rare; fighting in the field was a fact of life. For that curiosity alone he went along with it. "Oh?" He looked her way with a little more attention.   
  
"It wound up our team did not kill a single monster. First an avalanche drove them off, then the next group of enemies escaped us, then a series of coincidences, and more... over and over, for all encounters. Can you picture freak accidents every... single... time? It's inexplicable."   
  
Explanation given, the subject didn't hold his interest long. He grunted acknowledgement and went back behind his self-possessed wall.   
  
Quistis continued. "But I suppose there's no sense complaining about something that's already happened and over with," she reconsidered. "All we can do is build ourselves up more next time it's our turn in battle, and we'll make up for it. The only thing to do is deal with it."   
  
Squall watched her carefully for one long moment. He gave no encouragement or smile from the statement. But he did have a quiet feeling of appreciation.   
  
* * * * * * * *   
  
It was hard to believe Vash hadn't been able to speak up. Within moments Selphie was chatting away treating him like they were old friends; she was like that. The conversation was getting to riding around the countryside in Rinoa's train, their first mission to abduct President Deling, and the world address.   
  
"...And then right after that we had the first television broadcast, ever! Okay, the first since I was born, but that's still a record. Anyway, this Vinzer Deling guy didn't sound too happy; he wanted to talk about making the world better, but by getting rid of his _enemies_. That's not nice. I told everyone he should say something _cool_," and she did the patented Selphie Tilmitt Happy Dance. "Like 'Everybody, ~ Love! ~ And! ~ Peace!' but for some reason they kinda looked at me funny...."   
  
"Whoa! Slow down. That's my creed." All of a sudden he was _beyond_ feeling in heaven. "Did you just say... you believe in..." In astonishment, Vash repeated her saying with a broad-footed winner's stance, arm straight out and fingers spread in a V.   
  
"(He looks so cute when he does that.) For sure! I think it's the coolest. Don't you?"   
  
Next thing she knew, Selphie had one dreamy, starry-eyed bishoun on her hands. Her eyes went as big as teacups as he had her smushed against his red body-jacket with both his arms squeezing the life out of her. One of its buttons left a hard groove in her earlobe. "You're incredible! And to think, you had to go halfway around the globe and I had to come all the way here for us to meet. It has to be a Sign."   
  
"(This is crazy. After only one day someone's talking about 'meant to be'. It's too big, can't be for real.)"   
  
Vash spoke, "Do you know how rare it is to find a soul like yours? Yours is very special, Selphie."   
  
"(But ...what if it is true? Could I really mean that much?)" This treatment was just so... whoa. "(My heart's pounding. I'm actually trembling. There's butterflies in my stomach more than the spotlight onstage.)" It wasn't like friends had never hugged her before, but it sure hadn't been like _this_. "(_What is this I'm feeling?_)"   
  
The man let go, loose enough for breathing room, but stayed close. Way too near for a boy. Body heat close. Is-that-your-heartbeat-or-mine, close. Eyes on her intently, close. Making her blush, close. "Yes?" slipped out.   
  
"I want to kiss you," he answered simply, as if it were the most natural thing.   
  
Now that the words were out, she did too. But, like this? Selphie kinda pictured herself in someone's room, or a cozy spot off by themselves at a party or club. Cozier than this, anyway. "It-it isn't very private here, you know." The view through the wide windows was alright, because the landscape was uninhabited, but her friends could come in at any time. Ahead and at her side, nothing but a door separated Quistis and Squall, Zell and Rinoa....   
  
* * * * * * * *   
  
"What?"   
  
"I said think about what you're doing. Even if it's just practice, you've gotta focus." He sweatdropped. "( If this had been a legit class at the academy, and _I_ hadn't been paying attention, they'd have my ass handed to me.)"   
  
Time to get her spruced up for the battlefield. Indoors, they might as well practice blocking at close quarters. The trick was changing her instincts. Rinoa tended to flinch and shield her face, which pointed her launcher at some useless angle towards the ceiling. After the fifth time Zell responded by simply nudging her hands so she tapped her own forehead. That merited a scowl, but it was hard to stay mad at a boy who looked so _playful_ while making his point. A few slow-motion repeats trained her to keep her nerves calm and her launcher imposing between any incoming threat.   
  
There was one moment, however, when the launcher pinwheel really did fire within the enclosed space. No harm came; the only casualty was one of the arms on the four-post bunkbed. The pinwheel sliced clean through like a buzzsaw and imbedded in the wall; Rinoa pried it loose. "I feel bad for whoever takes a flop on top bunk," Zell whistled as he banged the post back in place all neat so it wouldn't look broken. "Maybe the suite wasn't the best place to try this?"   
  
"You think?"   
  
They exited to back to the bare compartment. On the way, "We weren't doing anything!" Selphie screamed as soon as they came through.   
  
"Ahhh... that's good to know," Zell confirmed, having no idea what she was talking about.   
  
Vash just smiled and waited for them to be out of the way.   
  
* * * * * * * *   
  
The crack of endangering furniture filtered through to the entrance cabin.   
  
"What do you suppose they're _doing_ in there?" Quistis queried, glancing at the separating wall.   
  
"(Unless your powers of perception are far inferior to my own, you have equal odds of deduction as I do. Oh, nevermind.) ...Setting off projectile weapons indoors, what else." He wouldn't put it past those two.   
  
"Yes, it's _much_ better in here." Heads turned as the portal opened and Rinoa and Zell filed in. "We're going to practice in here for a bit," Rinoa cooed to Squall. Should she emphasize attention on her blonde decoy to pique her beau's interest? Nah, that would be pushing it. "Unless you'd like to hang out-"   
  
Not really. Squall shouldered past most expediently. In his opinion their arrival exceeded the chamber's maximum by at _least_ two persons, if not more. He set off in desire of a quiet den in the suite.   
  
Apparently the crossing to the hallway caused some commotion.   
  
"SEE what I mean?!"   
  
For some bizarro reason, Selphie felt the need to squeal those words to Vash while pointing at _him_, Squall. Any chance of the gunblader coming to grips with his peers just went flying out the window, crash landed in the street, and got smashed under a semi.   
  
He continued on, prepared to seal himself in the cushioned lounge, but magnanimously tolerated his persistent human shadow.   
  
Quistis had entered a few steps behind, and both took up residence on the two cornering sofas. "(Not even on the same piece of furniture, let alone close),"she remarked dryly to herself, "(but it was a start.)"   
  
Now was as good a chance as any to ask his perspective on the new way of things, him being in the lead. She actually hadn't had a chance to talk personally since the dance... and kept her fingers crossed for an improvement. "Are things different for you? Now that you're the one responsible, I mean."   
  
For once, Squall favored her with a weary, clear-eyed expression with his guard down, before talking to his boots. "We've always been responsible. Me, you, Zell, Selphie," he listed the SeeDs he'd gotten to know. "As long as we've been in the program we've had the duty to _be_ strong no matter how we _felt_ about it." Somehow the command "be strong" came with a tie of sadness he couldn't explain.   
  
After this exceptionally long speech, it was hard not to want to comfort him. Instead Quistis settled for cheering him up. "What about the authority to put everyone back in line when things get out of hand?"   
  
She was already smirking while he thought it over and pictured himself telling Zell or Selphie to go sit in the corner. Before the day was out they'd probably deserve it too. The woman waited one minute, then suggested gently, "Whatever?"   
  
He glanced her way sharply, grey eyes smouldering to think she would make fun of him after he'd taken the trouble to speak something genuine. But no, this wasn't a joke on him, more like a joke _for_ him. "...It's fine," he answered instead, just to be contrary.   
  
The corners of his lips had twinged... a fraction.   
  
* * * * * * * *   
  
Meanwhile, Rinoa hoped the time spent with her patsy would pay off and fast. Her time would be better spent pumping the SeeDs for information about the leader, or better yet, hanging out with him herself.   
  
Training was no longer as fun, and this boy was getting on her nerves. It was probably starting to show because their moves were holding less back. In all likelyhood her mood explained why Angelo took it upon himself to "protect" her during the last pretended attack. Funny how he was so well-behaved he was rather invisible until he jumped into battle. From behind he loped onto Rinoa's arm and then rocketed at the sparring partner.   
  
"The hell was that? You fired a dog out of a bazooka at me," Zell stared, incredulous, after picking himself up from the far wall where the strike had knocked him.   
  
Rinoa grumbled something that didn't sound too apologetic.   
  
"You fired a _dog_ out of a _bazooka_ at me!"   
  
Ah, good to see the teens getting on so well. Half of them, at least....   
  
Da author: Thanks for making it this far! Coming up next, "City nights" as we make it to Galbania city and the Caraway Mansion. Did you like "Starry-Eyed Surprise"? Yes or no either way drop a line! Luff to you all.~ 


	4. recess

Today this section whizzed out from nowhere; this chapter was going to be the incidents in the Caraway Mansion and getting ready for the mission. But things get VERY heavy later on, and that's getting closer, so I was worried about balancing that out if the drama takes over. So here's goofing around to do in the meantime - - mostly thanks to Sweet Cherry Kisses   
  
And *^ ^* xoxo to Sweet Cherry Kisses (Neko / Koneko), Sakura Phoenix (Sakura / Selina) and Paine of Spira for all the really good things you've said!   
  


_Love! And! Peace! (And Smithereens)_   
  
Chapter Four, _Recess_

  
  
"Attention peoples, we haaaaave arrived!" That would only be Selphie, raising both arms triumphantly as she stepped off the train. She made it sound like every random stranger in the station was going to applaud her presence.   
  
"(Is it possible to draw _more_ attention to yourself? Have you already forgotten the patrolling searches and how difficult it was to leave Timber? Do the words 'low profile' mean anything?)"   
  
Rinoa filled in, in place of the quiet leader's rebuke. "What was that all about?" she giggled.   
  
"Oh, it's nothing. I just always hoped to be a big famous singer, so since we're in a brand new city why not pretend we're on tour?" she shrugged brightly.   
  
Rinoa mock-slapped her own cheek in exclamation and pointed an outstretched arm for all to see. "Eeek! It's _her_! I can't believe it's you. WOW!" And she laughed again.   
  
"I can help you with that too." Vash stepped in gleefully and exaggerated, " 'Cool! Can I have your autograph?' "   
  
Selphie played along and made a joke about him not having any paper so she'd have to sign his skin. Vash perked up hopefully as she mimed away but she pretended to sign his _hand_.   
  
Boring people without imagination of their own were staring at the teens' antics. Squall was busy pretending he didn't know any of them. Quistis was laughing internally but believed this wasn't the time or place to encourage them.   
  
Trust Zell to wrap things up. "Just a celebrity going incognito, nothing to see here." He imitated a cop as he raised his palms to the bystanders. Then as the group was shuffling through the exit, he faced the confused crowd one more time and yelled "SELPHIE TILMITT HAS LEFT THE BUILDING!" The girls and Vash split a rib having a giggle fit.   
  
Now that that's over, time to explore. Galbania City was gorgeous! It was as if all the builders had a contest to see who could make the most decorative architecture when the city was put together. And the train ride had eaten up much of the day, so the approaching dusk meant all the lights were turning on. Oooh, purty.   
  
The first thing the sights inspired in the kids was - - shopping. The city certainly had loads to see. And they hadn't had much free time on their own since running around Timber before the tv station and making it to Galbania Garden.   
  
"But first we should report to the mission coordinator. The meeting place is named Caraway Mansion."   
  
For some reason Rinoa made a small tremor of sound. Anyway...   
  
"Garden didn't tell us we had to rush right over did they?" Zell objected. "We gotta _eat _, and can't we look around and stuff?"   
  
"Sorry guys. We should talk to our contact first, and then we'll probably get to do things after we've checked in."   
  
"But what if we go and they say we don't have time for food before starting right away? Can't give someone a beat-down without fuel," he grinned.   
  
"I second that proposal," Vash added. "The cafeteria in my Garden fed us today but they ran out of the good stuff."   
  
"Yours too? I thought it was just Balamb's that did that."   
  
"Same at Trabia," Selphie confirmed. "Must be an all-over school bug."   
  
In the end though, the chain of command decided to look for the Caraway Mansion right away. "What if we miss some opportunity while we sat stuffing our faces?"   
  
Oddly shaped yellow buses clunked their way on bad rocking springs. The teens decided they were too cool and too physically fit to resort to them.   
  
After twenty minutes of trekking through the residential district, they were ready to change their story.   
  
"Wonder how long it would take just to learn the names of the streets here? I'm spoiled by Balamb City; a guy can make it from one end of town to the other without getting winded," Zell muttered. That much energy and stamina was believable, right?   
  
"Sure, riding your t-board," Selphie winked, getting a groan and a retort of "brat" and other name-calling. She yelped at the noogie coming her way from the street surfer.   
  
"Have we seen these houses already?" Quistis observed.   
  
They came to a halt. Vash noted, "Guys, we're at the first street again. I remember the stairs we had to come up after the station."   
  
Right now the ugly rickety buses looked really good, if for no other reason than an excuse to rest their feet. "Don't worry, if we sit long enough it'll take us to every location," Squall reasoned. But after a full circle, they wound up back at the first stop in the beginning. The outer circumference of the city had lots of houses, beautiful architecture like the Arc d'Triumph, and a view of prominent structures in the distant center. Gotta love a city that decorates its buildings with statues of half-lions, half-iguanas for no reason. But the route didn't have anything to interest the teens.   
  
They tried the southbound on the other side of the street instead of the northbound, thinking it would be a different trip. Vash hummed a tune to himself until Selphie beside him asked what the song was. He told her. It was one of those that kids love for long trips, the kind that make their parents threaten to turn their cars around or drive off a cliff or whatever. It wasn't exactly the same thing as "I am Henery the 8th I am" but it was just as bad. (( And if you don't know how bad that could be, you haven't seen that scene in Ghost. ^_^; )) So naturally Selphie latched on with him. She could carry a tune. Vash couldn't. By the sixth repetition of "Second verse, same as the first" and recycling through the whole thing, Vash Selphie and Quistis were singing in high spirits, Zell was howling in misery, and Squall and Rinoa were actually relieved to see the first street station again.   
  
The southbound track had been the same circle, just a backwards order. They moved over a block and tried again. This route landed them at the Shopping Arcade at the next stop.   
  
"Can we?"   
  
"No."   
  
"But-"   
  
"NO."   
  
"Pretty please with sugar on top?"   
  
"..."   
  
But this bus sputtered onward on its route and made its full course without hitting the Caraway Mansion either. Squall relented when they found themselves immersed in the Shopping Arcade the second time. He was hungry too.   
  
"Hooray!"   
  
They narrowed down the choices for dinner and desert to two fast food restaurants that were across the street from each other.   
  
The Legendary Gunman waxed into a reverie. "Do you ever take a minute to stop and pay attention to how the very little pleasures, everyday, the ones we almost take for granted, are really what the biggest part of life is all about?"   
  
Zell agreed enthusiastically with a big "Right on" around a mouthful of food. They shared a salute as if they were giving a toast - "Cheers." But instead of clinking glasses they thumped together a juicy bitten hot dog and a very fresh, hot-out-of-the-oven doughnut. Ahhh.   
  
At the weapons shop, everyone who had found and assembled the right parts got their instruments upgraded. When it was Quistis' turn, Selphie walked in and found her speaking even though there was no one else in the showroom at the moment. The Trabian hesitated between asking what was up with the combat expert or giving her the space to be alone. Instead she asked candidly, "Are you talking to your whip?"   
  
Quistis blushed at the girl. In front of her on the counter was the beloved fusion of metal and organic assembly that sang in her hands and could cut scars with the precision of a knife from a distance of numerous feet. "Yes... well... People talk to their cars when they want them to start, don't they? I'm blessing my whip because it's getting specialized."   
  
Selphie eyed the red Scorpion Tail and thought it over. "Cool. I'm gonna do the same thing for mine."   
  
Rinoa had done all that and shopped to her heart's content in the pet store. Outside, Squall waited for the others to catch up and in the meantime played cards with one of the townspeople hanging about. The angel came over with shopping bags bulging, and he questioned her warily.   
  
"...?"   
  
"All this? Cost only 25,000 gil."   
  
A soundless roll of the eyes met her revelation.   
  
"Come on! It's not a waste. This is all good stuff."   
  
"?"   
  
She rustled for a magazine amid the other belongings. "Here's a copy of Pet Lovers monthly so Angelo can learn to do things even more powerful. Isn't that helpful?" No answer came, but her spirit didn't falter. _She_ knew training the canine came in handy. "And things to heal and restore the Guardian Forces, and scrolls to teach them new techniques."   
  
He stared her way with wonder.   
  
"The GFs you all let me carry have been good to me. Why shouldn't I?"   
  
Squall gave a long nod of affirmation.   
  
"Oh well. When we're all ready to go we can just head two blocks east from here and hitch a ride straight for the mansion."   
  
"! ... !?"   
  
"Don't look at me like that."   
  
"If you knew, then why...?"   
  
"Yes, I live in Timber now but I'm really from here. You think I'd want to head to that house so soon after getting back? Not on your life. Besides, if we did, we would have missed _this_." Then she linked her arm in his.   
  
He was mildly startled. And even with his leather and bulk in between, he could feel her slim arm through the padding.   
  
But he stayed stiff. It was like hugging a mannequin or dead weight, and she soon let go in disappointment.   
  
"(Why does she look so sad now?)" So hard to figure out, isn't it? Might as well say _something_. He beckoned for her to come back over. The lion whispered something confidential that brought a laugh and a returning surge of high spirits. It was   
  
"I forgive you for letting us roam the streets lost. But if those guys start singing again, it's _your_ responsibility."   
  
Da author: This last bit feels a little ooc for Squall but remember, you don't *always* have to resort to tugging his arm or yelling until he gives in. He *does* speak voluntarily. XD Also, next chapter begins the side-quest that gets them into the mansion. Since Vash took care of the Tomb of the Unknown King already, the guard has his own ideas. "If you're really SeeDs you could... capture the Tonberry King!" Don't you hope it's not as painful as all that? ^_^; 


	5. hall pass

  


_Love and Peace (and smithereens)   
  
Ch 5, Hall pass_

  
  
Getting to the Caraway Mansion was one thing, getting inside was another matter. It started as any other routine exchange with a subordinate.   
  
The six SeeDs (counting Rinoa) proudly declared themselves. Galbania's soldier nodded in a business-like manner and stood at parade rest, feet shoulder-width apart and hands clasped behind his back.   
  
"I see. General Caraway anticipates your arrival as per successful negotiations with Garden. However..." The teens instinctively groaned. "There has already been one case earlier today of individuals claiming to serve Garden's interests attempting to breach high-security areas. Whether they actually did originate from Garden is unclear, but they were certainly not the SeeD team under contract. General Caraway is not a fool; naturally he has taken precautions."   
  
Those who had stayed awake now yawned. It had nothing to do with them if someone used Garden's name to sneak around - - whether it was another liberating rebel or some lone initiative, conflicting factions were all over the place. One more player on the stage meant nothing to them....   
  
"What do you want us to do?" Quistis continued. "We're covert, uniform-free for a reason, and certainly no ID we carry would mark us as agents."   
  
"That's alright. You'll just do something that proves you are who you claim to be - - through skill. The Tomb of the Unknown King is a large monument north of town; go there and bring back proof of making it all the way inside." The adult folded his arms and waited as if the kids were supposed to scurry off just because he said to.   
  
"Good thing one of us has already been there."   
  
They all turned to Vash, including the guard. "Well? Find any treasure there?"   
  
"Yes, there was this beautiful waterfall right in the center of the cavern, and it made me want to just sit there for hours. Plus there was the satisfaction of helping a wise soul in need...."   
  
"Uh, he means treasure as in loot. Boo-tay!" Selphie clarified.   
  
"Oh. The only material things I found were these gifts." He brought out cards with four numbers and the pictures of Minotaur and Sacred. "Are they valuable? Do these count?"   
  
Zell and Squall looked on hungrily at the Triple Triad aces. The guard couldn't care less. "I don't take interest in _cards_," he sniffed. "Spend thousands of gil assembling a good deck and then you might as well flush it down the toilet once the next game comes out. It's a bigger racket than the gambling market, I tell you."   
  
Quistis' temper wasn't faring too well. "Who cares! If going to the Tomb won't prove anything what do you want from us?"   
  
"Something only a SeeD would be able to do," he assured. "How about... capture the Tonberry King?"   
  
"Are you serious?"   
  
"Are you saying you can't do it?" he challenged back.   
  
"On the tiny chance we _are_ who we are, don't you think it's more important for us to get in a planning session with the general as soon as possible without your hindrance?" Quistis steamed.   
  
"Hmph. Well, if you are really SeeDs you could... prove the existence of UFOs photographed in Unexplained Mysteries and Occult Fan magazines!"   
  
The teens just fumed. "What do you expect us to do, chase around those fields with weird crop circles while we wave around Elixirs as bait?"   
  
Zell stepped up. "Let me make this clear." For this occasion he chose to do a mob goon impression. Go Zell! He jerked a thumb at Quistis and smiled toothily to the security guard. "The lady sez you's tha nuisance-type obstacle what's standin' in between us and our objective. Dis ain't exactly a clever-type position fa youze ta be in."   
  
"Okay, okay, I give! I'll call it a guarantee if you ... bring the Black Materia."   
  
The most peaceable among them was close to letting go. Vash felt an intoxicating upsurge of power, a pure pulse through his cells. Any minute now his body would start glowing, and then consciousness would be borne away into blackness. The last time that had happened his right arm had leveled a whole city to rubble and blown apart half of the fifth moon. The world he grew up on- - some had forgiven him but none could forget.   
  
"( No, not here. )"   
  
_Don't fight it_, murmured a voice as deep as a canyon and as rich as earth itself.   
  
"( No...)"   
  
_Ride this out. It'll take care of all your problems._   
  
"( Please... don't... )" The godlike one gave a helpless plea. If the voice had had a physical form, he would beg on his knees and hold on with all he had.   
  
_At the very least, you would not be further troubled by this ... mortal._   
  
"( Let- this- stop- now! )"   
  
But vision closed in leaving only a tight narrow tunnel connecting his sight to this world. Soon Vash's cells would begin to glow in consuming nuclear fusion.   
  
Instead his body was wrenched from the physical plane entirely-- no longer part of this dimension! What was going on?   
  
The ground beneath where he had stood rippled upward, and a ten foot dome of earth and sidewalk supporting the security guard elevated - - thanks to the Shrine Brothers below. On their hands the half-sphere lowered for more momentum and then hurtled into the sky. The guardian forces watched its vertical flight with smug satisfaction. And now the brothers engaged in a family ritual as old as time to see who would finish off the deed - - rock paper scissors. Bigger, younger Minotaur lost the flip to smaller yet more impressive Sacred. "Every time," he groaned. Sacred laughed, cupped his hands, and Minotaur stepped a hoofed foot in so he could launch. His punch rocketed through the midair disk, crumbling it.   
  
Vash came to and found no actual destruction to the sidewalk or street. Thanks to dimensional overlap the only thing truly affected was - - the Galbanian soldier! The legendary gunman rushed forward to check vitals.   
  
The guard was still conscious and also able to stand on his own. The two guardian forces roared amusement in Vash's head. He could _feel_ them giving a high five in there.   
  
The guard was as dazed as having a slug in the jaw but that was all. "I believe you; you can pass."   
  
_Told you we'd take care of troubles from him_, the GFs chuckled.   
  
* * * * * * * *   
  
Da author: 01/23 Not much to say here 'cept I'm glad you're still reading, whoever you are, and that the chapters titles have taken on a school theme again for some reason. You know what's next- homecoming. 


	6. homecoming

  
  


_ Ch 6, homecoming_

  
  
Several minutes later the teenagers were happily arranged around the sitting room within the mansion. Selphie and Vash were pretty stuck on each other over by the statue, talking very intimately by the looks of it. For once Zell had calmed down and was sprawled at the desk with his feet up after sticking his nose in all the art around. Quistis and Squall were by the windows and painting, idly watching Rinoa pace.   
  
"That stuffy old man, this is just like him to always make people wait."   
  
There went Rinoa talking as if she'd clashed intimately with the general before. The trained SeeDs --the observant ones at least, since Selphie and Vash were still hanging on each other's every word-- recognized this was no one-horse town where any drifter off the street could traipse in and visit a head honcho. Either the angel had negotiated with him once before on behalf of the Forest Owls, which didn't seem likely, or...   
  
Rinoa smiled on her way out. "Oh and guys, make yourselves at home. This is MY house."   
  
The combat specialists stopped what they were doing and watched her exit. This just opened up a world of hurt. The military graduates knew all too well.   
  
1) Caraway had been in place while President Deling took over Timber, therefore he had executed the conquest operations himself. This isn't the same as any other soldier "just following orders". If he'd had any sympathy at all for the subjugated, he wouldn't have been personally responsible for a vicious campaign against them.   
  
2) Likewise, a man in this high position made his living and _reputation_ by stamping out resistance. Proving one's loyalty to the State became _fanaticism_. Credibility was worth more than family. The man would jump to turn in an active rebel, any rebel.   
  
3) He already knew Rinoa but couldn't be counted on to have mercy for his own daughter. All their relationship meant was that he was more likely to know of her activities and be able to use them against her. A confirmed revolutionary on a silver platter! Unless the man was blind, or she had taken extreme caution in disguising her activities... Uh oh.   
  
Zell Dincht summed this all up, succinctly as ever. "So the father's a general and the daughter's a revolutionary? Guys, this is BAD." He was white-faced.   
  
General Caraway could order twenty city police to surround the house and apprehend Rinoa and the other "subversives". Worse, he could send his guard to do it, and return talking and smiling at the SeeDs to occupy them as the trap sprang.   
  
Selphie caught on too. She blinked large eyes and raised a finger to her mouth, childlike. "But... it's okay, right? I mean, we're only here to do a job so we're safe... aren't we?"   
  
Quistis glanced at Squall. No help there for the others. "What happens, happens," she reminded them softly.   
  
Funny, those were the very same words he'd been thinking. But coming from her they were a warm reassurance. Maybe there was something to it.   
  
Then the adult in question entered with a flourish, seemingly driven by the teenage smarty in blue. Introductions were redundant since full regalia and array of medals spoke for themselves. He addressed them smoothly. Squall Leonhart stepped in as team commander.   
  
"Let me make one thing clear. Galbadia Garden sent us to combine service with you as part of their good faith. Once that duty is complete our prior instruction resumes effect. We will do whatever it takes to defend our employer and her contract."   
  
Taking their cue, the rest of the SeeDs jumped in, weapons bristling. Even if 20 police swarmed the mansion in the next few minutes, the brave individuals showed _who_ was surrounded now, and the odds made _six_ to one in _here_.   
  
"Guys, guys, guys. Is this a family visit or a hostage situation?" It very well could be. Vash's normally lighthearted tone was artificial and apologetic.   
  
"...Indeed." Mr. Caraway paused dismissively just long enough to talk down to the specialists as if they were merely juveniles acting out. When he resumed, he gave them their due as professionals. "I will not interfere in your business with my daughter," he mimicked Squall. "Shall we get down to business?"   
  
He gestured, and the fighters put up their equipment and went at ease. Not trustful, but at rest.   
  
"Now then. The agreement with Garden concerns one issue. The Sorceress must be removed." Hands clasped behind his back, and his pacing mannerisms were such he and Headmaster Cid could have been separated at birth.   
  
"She made a bargain with the president, offering her powers to support the regime. And Mr. Vinzer was grateful this came at a time when he seeks to expand borders."   
  
"'Expand borders'," Rinoa mouthed something rude. "They're not cultivating wild fields, they're holding towns at gunpoint." Caraway continued as if her interruption were irrelevant, more infuriating to Rinoa than arguing with her.   
  
"But (as I see it) rather than accepting a high station beneath his rule, the woman has been implementing control and plots of her own. The Sorceress may seek to gradually, over time, seize control of the nation.   
  
"She has already given her right-hand-man authority to rival my own. He in turn has brought in a handpicked squad and lifted them to rank of captains." A token in his drifting, some manifestation, indicated he might have disclosed more than he intended to.   
  
"In any matter, the Sorceress's neutralization is to the best, for Galbania and –considering her expanding hunger-- for the world." Caraway spread his arms grandly.   
  
"What he really means is that he's scared the lady's gonna kick him to the curb," Selphie muttered. Even quiet, her bright voice darted across the room.   
  
"I beg your pardon?"   
  
"(Yikes!) It's nothing."   
  
"Very well. It was a small council within the Galbanian government who made the decision to bring the Sorceress out of the picture. President Vinzer Deling was not part of this circle." The long-lived magistrate eyed them sharply and deeply. The teens let that information sink in -- they'd be acting against the president's wishes. And then Caraway uttered the unnecessary implication. "If you fail, or if you are caught, don't expect any official to acknowledge you or bring help."   
  
So even if they were successful they might be captured by police and abandoned. Was that reminder a jibe in payback for serving his daughter and Timber's rebels? So close to the swift punishment of one of their own for attacking a high figure too, that stinger was still venomously potent.   
  
The group was quietly contemplative.   
  
Zell's candid and plainspoken nature reduced any danger to a plain face-off, something to tackle head on. "(So what? The risk comes with any mission. I promise I won't go down quietly!)"   
  
Selphie, who kept a prolonged innocence, shook her head until her hair whiplashed. "(That'll never happen to _us_. I promise it just plain _can't_.)"   
  
Squall remained resigned as ever. "(If it's inescapable, it's inescapable....)" Then came a surge of fighting force. "(No, I promise they won't talk about me in the past tense.)"   
  
Quistis, the mature one, bit her lip. "(I've spent more time in wars than any of them.... I promise to watch out for them.)"   
  
Vash was the most experienced and concerned. "(I promise there won't be a life lost, on any _side_.)"   
  
And then came Rinoa, rebellious and untouched. "(Pooh. I dare somebody to try anything on me.)"   
  
* * * * * * * *   
  
Notes: Tried to stick pretty close to the game script here. And my own education gave a surprising insight into military methods _and_ rebellion thought processes, so the family threat _is_ more of a big deal than it looked in the game. loveandpeace, all.  



	7. homecoming con't

_   
  
Ch 7, homecoming con't_

  
  
Regardless, preparations proceeded.   
  
"It is my understanding a sniper was commissioned for this task."   
  
The others focused on Vash pointedly until he snapped to attention. "They tell me I'm the man for the job." Clearly he was back into his false modesty routine.   
  
"Since this is the primary strike of the operation, the 'sniper team' should have at least one other member to accompany to supervise... to prevent anything _unforeseeable_ from interfering."   
  
"(Weight to bear. Nothing new here.)" They were waiting for the leader to say something. "...I'll accompany."   
  
A small bead broke out on Vash's hairline. "(Hey, they say that like I might have a personality meltdown. What, I might wind up lost, run away, or miss the deadline because I dropped everything to get drunk and chase women?)" No comment on that one. No, actually in his case it really is nothing more than peer pressure. Ah, such a reputation to live up to. "That won't be necessary, sir. I guarantee I'll do a good job." The red-clad mercenary smiled like the good young man he is. "No major malfunctions here."   
  
Okay, even if the leader _would_ have considered trusting the adept and letting his own responsibility slide, that last line clinched it. Squall got his point across in 3.5 seconds of glowering.   
  
"The other 'trap team' needs at least one member, and the rest can be divided at your discretion."   
  
Squall pictured bringing Quistis along. Even if he did want to talk with her, it wouldn't be while there was serious duty at hand. No. Zell, and have the loon and Vash gang up and tag-team him? Definitely not. Selphie seemed to be having a peculiar reaction to the gunman, screaming in his presence and dumbstruck the next. It was rather hard for Squall to put his finger on it but better let the two be separated. "The other three will be the trap team." Zell hopped up and down and drilled the air. At least this was easier to pin down; the teen was so psyched it almost hurt to disappoint. "(Sorry, Zell.) ...And the team leader is Quistis Trepe."   
  
The shadowboxer became a disheartened slump. Then he perked himself up again just as quickly -- there was never a good enough reason to bring anyone else down. "We're behind you all the way, Instructor. Let's kick some ass!" Selphie backed him up with a hearty cheer.   
  
The blonde veteran flushed at such a sincere display of dedication from someone other than a trepie. "(Now if only a certain someone _else_ could be this supportive...)"   
  
"Hold it."   
  
The SeeDs jumped and turned to face; it was Rinoa. "What do you mean, 'three' on the team? I'm in this too." Her arms folded and a foot tapped in riled fashion. "I _know_ you didn't plan on leaving me out of the picture."   
  
An embarrassed silence took the room. "Surely you don't intend to bring-?" Caraway began. The SeeDs' reaction told him all he needed to know. "Then I'll wait for you at the monument in the city square for the rest of the briefing."   
  
"Good, I'm glad he's gone," Rinoa began excitedly as soon as the door closed behind her father. "Now that we're making plans I can tell you about _this_. This bracelet is an Odine Bangle, number one in magical goods! It's hideously expensive but I found one in the house. Anyway its function suppresses magical powers -- including a Sorceress! Maybe if I can get close enough to put it on as a gift it'll help out with whatever _you're_ doing."   
  
The others found excuses to look aside. As the one in charge, Squall really let her have it. "This isn't your mission or contract; it's ours. We're going after one of the most powerful beings on the planet and it's too dangerous to risk- -"   
  
"I've never been afraid of- -"   
  
"_Furthermore_ whatever plan the general has, Garden trusts him because _everything_ going on in this city would be accounted for, all the schedules and movements. One wrong addition, one bad timing and everything from then on can fowl."   
  
"No, with an extra person trying it'll increase your odds no matter what."   
  
Quistis lost her patience and joined in to make things more clear. "Listen up. Suppose you went outside and saw Squall being arrested by city guards, would you fight to free him?"   
  
"Depends on what he did to get in trouble," she winked, then put the joke aside. "Of course you can depend on me to help!"   
  
"Ha. For all you knew, he was letting himself get taken in so he could enter the facility quietly, and now because of you he can't get in without an assault that raises alarms for the target. You just blew the mission. Do you now see what kind of things go on?"   
  
Rinoa said nothing; she hadn't pictured that. But she bravely tried to muster. "But... if you tell me what you're doing, we could strategize my idea into account..."   
  
"If you make an attempt on the Sorceress she might cancel whatever schedule Garden and the general were counting on, and then we wouldn't be able to do a thing. We aren't going to use your idea! Get the picture?" Yes, the older girl was being harsh, but considered it necessary in order to make sure they could count on no interference. Rinoa fell silent.   
  
With the matter apparently settled, Squall gave the signal to move out.   
  
Selphie gave the girl condolences on the way out. "Don't take this personally. I've been in Trabia Garden for _years_ getting ready to kick butt. Okay?" She put a hand on Rinoa's shoulder, and the angel in blue gave a routine nod. Zell gave an upbeat look of sympathy on his way out.   
  
Vash was the last to leave, and before he did he took the time to whisper in her ear. "I'm glad you decided to stay. I've seen people I love get turned into hostages because they wanted to follow me, and let me tell you that is not a good feeling." A moment of depth from the clownish man gave her a surprise.   
  
And with that she was left alone. Disappointment was enough to make the girl plop down against the furniture. The only sound was a grandfather clock ticking in her old parents' empty house. "What am I supposed to do while you guys are doing everything without me?" she muttered. "Throw a house party?"   



	8. pt conference

_   
  
Ch 8, p/t conference_

  
  
The five SeeDs found the head of the military where he said he'd be, next to one of the towers forming the monumental Arc.   
  
"After a public address each, President Deling and the Sorceress will both ride a parade through the city. Shortly before the finale it passes underneath this arch, approaching _this_ way. At that time the sniper team gets one shot from a platform above the government building straight ahead."   
  
He paused for them to digest this. "Security should be with the heads of state instead of staying behind in the building, but just in case that's what your sniper's backup is for." Squall nodded grimly. He'd make sure he and Vash reached the designated area. "If that works, your job is done and all that's left is to elude the city and go home.   
  
"If not, you three will lower both gates of the arch from the control room above so the Sorceress can't escape by simply having her drivers floor the vehicle; and naturally her fleeing on foot would be of no use. Then all of you will converge in an all-out, nonstop assault."   
  
Nonstop?   
  
Quistis put delicately what most of them were thinking. "And if this phase goes awry too, do we have recourse to withdraw?"   
  
"Of course I don't expect you to do a suicide mission," he laughed patronizingly as if that were _not_ what he was setting them up for. "But _consider_, Garden's bylaws are as clear as military, are they not? Disobeying an order is insurrection. Retreating without orders amounts to cowardice." General Caraway smiled toothily. "Either way you'd be court-martialed or fugitives. Think it over. Good day."   
  
The general sarcastically saluted, which forced the lower ranked to respond in kind -- much as they hated to. They waited until he went out of eyesight off to his own schedule for the evening before they exploded.   
  
"I don't fricken believe this!" Zell screamed and vented everything against the wall. Funny how the boy had no problems punching craters into brick but couldn't swear past a certain point.   
  
"You're not helping," Quistis snapped. "Let's see Galbania's instructions. Do we have to stand for this?"   
  
Squall handed over the letter given by this district's headmaster. Zell backed off not so much because he felt less irked but that he hoped no one would notice he was nursing his hand.   
  
"Headmaster Martine wrote, 'SeeD services shall belong to General Caraway for one day in order to eliminate the Sorceress by means of a sniper, and directions to carry out said goal are up to the contractor.' That's it? Well that's just great." She made a face.   
  
Vash was still sticking to Selphie but now they were less flirty and more of a huddle. He tentatively asked, "Excuse me, but is it normal to have no limits on a job?"   
  
"You bet your butt -- not." Selphie shook her head until her curls bobbed against her cheeks. "It looks like Garden _assumed_ the boss would want us to mostly use the sniper which would be safer, so they didn't mention rules about anything else. Headmaster Martine has it set it up so Caraway could make us jump through fire hoops with clown suits on if he wanted to."   
  
"Maybe _next_ week we can do that," her beau was sure to quip.   
  
Quistis reread the all-too brief letter. "Cid's contracts might have been wordy and obsessively complicated but at least he looks out for us better than this."   
  
"Using his name without title, openly criticizing our superiors, a _personal opinion_ on the _job_? I can't remember you ever sounding like this before, Instructor. Since when do you talk like a human being?" Now that he was at full power again the smirking Mr. Know It All just _had_ to bring out his wit.   
  
"(For crying out loud did you think I _wasn't_ human?!)" But Quistis bit her tongue in time to change her mind. Everyone else could use a pep talk, and now was the time; of course the designated leader wouldn't consider encouragement necessary to beginning a mission. "That was the classroom, the place to instill codes and respect. This is the field where we have to be on the level. And I believe we won't _need_ to retreat." And the ex-instructor proceeded to get everyone riled about the coming battle.   
  
By the time she was through, she had them believing the Sorceress was already handed over on a silver platter and ready to be carved and sliced up to boot. Selphie went around making "Kapow! Ka-POW!" noises to herself. Zell was already shadowboxing again and this time he got the spunky petite woman to join in too with her nunchucks.   
  
Squall still hadn't said a word or budged much since the revelation. The gunblader was standing quietly by himself like a fatalist simply waiting until it was time to act.   
  
Vash picked that moment to try to buddy up with him again. He gave a light elbow nudge. "Rinoa's dad was pretty scary, huh? I'll let _you_ have him for an in-law."   
  
* * * * * * * *   
Da author, end Jan / beginning of Feb-- We'll be catching up with _Edea_ for a while, plus Rinoa, and who else is around do you think "class reunion" wouldn't be complete without?   
New blessing: May you do well in whatever world you will be in!   



	9. class reunion

  
Feb Much thanks to Sweet Cherry Kisses who is just about my only reader.... And if you're seeing this and you're not her why don't you review and say so? T_T ::cries:: ::moves on:: =)   
One thing about the comments -- I **do** like Rinoa! and try to tease everybody the same. No, the others weren't trying to push her and Squall together; she's the only one doing that. Vash's joke was more about her father, and he's been sort of too preoccupied with Selphie to even notice she likes Squall or much else. :D   
  


* * * * * * * *   
  
_Ch 9 class reunion_

  
"Sure. I don't mind doing nothing around while they're all out there." She idly pulled a stray thread from the hem of her arm warmer. "Right, parking myself right here is the best I'm good for. Humph." She dropped the thread on the rug and picked at the fray.   
  
It was going to be a long evening.   
  
"What was it Vash said, he had to tell the ones he loved to stay away. But what about the people _I_ care about? I want to protect them too...." A thought occurred and she sat up straight. "Maybe _that's_ the only reason Squall wanted me to wait safely? Maybe?" She frowned while thinking about him. "He also called me a poser."   
  
As she was sitting one observer checked her position through the outside window and dutifully meddled with the mansion's control panel -- Caraway's personal soldier activating the mansion's security system into lock-down. The electronic ping got her attention. Rinoa grinned. "Maybe he was right. I shouldn't try to be one of them; I ought to be _myself_."   
  
She quickly went to the indoors control panel. Beep be beep. "One two three four five as a security code? It's the kind of thing idiots use on their luggage." ((Da author– this quote is about Spaceballs. Hello rebelling princess, all hail Princess Vespa! Haha. )) Slyly escaping her own home brought back a _lot_ of memories. "And this isn't about sneaking out of the house for dates anymore." A minute later she winked behind the back of the security guard and trotted on her way.   
  
The Odine Bangle was still in a pocket pouch. She had made up her mind to go ahead with it.   
  
Then the bright girl worked her charisma on the elaborate government center just as well as she'd done at Garden. "You know what, Selphie was right about them having experience... but I've spent a lot of years preparing too." She _did_ slide through checks at the campus gate back in Balamb Garden and at their exclusive graduates-only event, no? Her abilities were enviable. Although, "You WILL like me" was less cunning.   
  
She went inside the government branch and made her way through the area nicknamed the 'palace'. According to the security she fast-talked by using her father's name, this was it. This chamber ahead was one of the Sorceress's abode.   
  
The girl took a deep breath, and...   
  
Rinoa approached cautiously through the white silken room. Thirty feet in front of her, Edea looked every bit as splendid and intimidating as a live myth, seated upon a throne as if awaiting court. The woman shortened her raven hair by safely singeing the ends, morphed the head ornamentation to a more suitable decorative arrangement, and brushed swirls of purple and gold near her eyes and temples. All this was done without Edea using her hands....   
  
Still the teenager pressed on. "Um, hello? I mean, greetings, your majesty. This is for you. That is, I've come to pay my respects, because of my father the general, um, and..." A sight made her trail off with eyes wide.   
  
The woman of spectacular supernatural powers had not so much as budged an inch, save for the flow of her wispy garments in the breeze. But a mental command had summoned her personal guard from the chamber beyond.   
  
Oh dear god. It was HIM. He who she just about fell for a year ago last summer, who talked about being a champion SeeD. Who had dropped out of touch since then only to turn up on international television. He who was supposed to be deceased after an execution.   
  
"Rinoa. It's good to see you."   
  
The voice made her knees weak. "(Seifer. He's here! He's alive.)" She struggled to say something. The two faced each other across a pristine expanse with the Sorceress's throne in between. Without thinking she ran forward, which put herself in the middle.   
  
"So you've discarded Timber like so much rubbish and given up on those silly, childish friends of yours," he stated with self-assurance.   
  
She briefly shook her head in confusion and gestured for him to go on.   
  
"Zone, Wedge, and the rest of that no good cell."   
  
"(That's right, he already knew _everything_ about my life with the Owls but hardly anything about what happened since the SeeDs came.)"   
  
"You've come to your senses about the '_misguided rebels_'," he scorned, "and come to pay homage to the true dominance of this world."   
  
His tone was a purr more flawless than she'd ever heard it. Lips curled into a sharp smile as he beamed fondly at her.   
  
"(Oh! He's facing the sorceress so he has to watch how he acts. He's helping me make up a cover!)" She thought about it quickly. "(What if he's been safe _because_ he _pretends_ to be loyal to the Sorceress? Then my Odine Bangle could be just the chance he's been waiting for. ...I'm going to do it. Hold on, Seifer!)"   
  
Rinoa turned to the older magician and made a clumsy, ill-modeled bow. "That's right. A-as a token of respect, I've brought this gift."   
  
Seifer circled around her, so slowly she heard every distinct step, so close she felt the material of his pale coat brush the back of her bare legs. A shiver sank through her. Never in her life had she held fear of the man, no matter what effect his temper had had on anyone else. But the thought that he, of all people, might hurt her... it came to her now.   
  
He stood before her an arm's length away, no more. The Hyperion shone in his hand, held at rest and pointed loosely downwards. After circling her his back was to the Great Witch so he became free to make some private expression of recognition. Any second now he'd show some personal signal, and she'd go present the charmed bracelet, so then he could attack with his Hyperion gunblade.... Just maybe, together, they could...   
  
"She's lying," he announced coldly. Rinoa gasped. He'd had his chance, and the silent reunion of emotions she'd been looking for was as far away as tropical sunshine from arctic midnight. "This girl is a traitor to your glorious destiny. But... it might not be best to dispose of her yet. We might find a use for her."   
  
Within his depths, was he asking for mercy on her behalf or setting up a more painful intent? At this moment he was impossible to read, or feel.   
  
"_I already have found a use._" The Sorceress rose and moved forward, not so much walking as gliding.   
  
"Little freedom fighter, you shall live to see one of your most devout and painstaking wishes come true." Rinoa backed away, dumbfounded by this contradiction. The Sorceress's adorned face remained neutral like a ceramic mask and without menace. "Then all the rest of your dreams shall be annihilated."   
  
* * * * * * * *   
  
Next is Bondage Children -- and before you get the ideas it's about the circle of mind control. Loss of free will. Hint - - this time around Edea will NOT do something as simple as Iguion statues.   
Show love. Post. 


	10. prom queen

  


_Love! And! Peace! (and smithereens)   
  
Ch 10, prom queen_

  
  
President Deling stepped forth onto the palatial balcony to view the assembly. Almost the entire populace of the capitol city had turned out to see his ascent and celebration. Timber had already succumbed long ago, Vinzer's unscrupulous tactics to rise to power had paid off successfully with only a few whiny protesters to complain in print about it, and in a few minutes he would lead a parade in anticipation of continued triumph against the rest of the countries' independence.   
  
Look at all those people below. They were assembled for _him_. It was a potent feeling.   
  
In fact the feeling brought by this adulation was so heady he allowed only one other person to be so privileged. The honored one was usually next in command General Caraway; this time it would be Her Lady the Sorceress. The military still counted for something but their might was chump change compared to the force of the Great Witch.   
  
Deling made his vocal address. The subject, surprisingly, was "unity" and the great need for more of it during the approaching period. "(Ha ha, unity that would ensue when all lands fell under the banner of the growing expansion.)" He concluded the speech and prepared to admit the magic extraordinaire to the limelight.   
  
To no minor annoyance of his, the Sorceress had already entered the spot of honor before his permission. Hm. Either tomorrow or the next day Deling would have to schedule time to correct that attitude. The Sorceress needed to be reminded exactly _who_ was ruler here.   
  
The next moment Vinzer barely stifled a shriek of alarm. It was the assassin boy! Not only was the white-coated gunblader still living, he accompanied the Sorceress! He prowled onto the balcony like an insolent young panther.   
  
"I was told by my soldiers he is dead. I _ordered_ him to be dead," Vinzer hissed. Only a thin margin of professionalism and grooming for the role kept his voice from spreading to the microphone.   
  
"The knight's place is by my side," Edea countered smoothly. The would-be murderer visibly puffed up at her praise.   
  
Vinzer backed away from the dangerous youth. He could _feel_ death biding its time for him behind those steely green eyes.   
  
Bumping his rear into the podium reminded him of his position. Deling could either publicly rebuke her then and there or pretend this happened with his consent. Only those two options would save face in front of the audience.   
  
The Sorceress let him make his choice to stand still. His illusion of control could last a little longer, but neither option would have saved him. In fact the only way he could have exited here alive was if he had run screaming the moment he saw her face. But even abandoning all power and hope might not have been enough. And she found it secretly amusing he held such fear of her precious Seifer when the dictator's life lied in _her_ palm.   
  
While Vinzer stood by, Edea brought out the final player to the stage. _Come, little one._ Her tone was gentle, but then again one such as her did not need to ask twice.   
  
Rinoa had been waiting just out of sight inside the building. Now Edea's call impelled her forward like a tug from a leash. She might as well have a collar around her neck for all her obedience to the Sorceress.   
  
They were all arranged and paused expectantly - - Edea at the microphone, Deling at her left, Seifer Almasy at her right hand, and Rinoa Heartilly next to his.   
  
The president.   
  
The Sorceress.   
  
The knight.   
  
The angel.   
  
Edea spoke to the crowd and then destroyed the head of Galbania.   
  
She clutched his chest with a fist that seethed in blue flame and held him up with his feet twitching above the floor; President Deling's body burned from within and spasmed in her grasp until he dropped deceased to the corner. "My power is absolute. My authority unquestionable," she told the masses.   
  
The pair surveyed the body with disdain. The lady had been quite entertained by his fear of the teenager, fright so transparent -- and so misplaced. "(I could have killed him for you. I would have)," the haughty knight spoke up.   
  
_I know you would_, she approved fondly. _But his death was mine._   
  
"(You already stopped me from killing him once.)"   
  
_Do you remember why you wanted to?_   
  
Seifer frowned; he didn't. It was to please his chosen, he knew that much. To aid her will. To serve as he had always desired to do. ...Had always desired. But his Sorceress had drawn him away from the victim. How could that be, when she had always been the one he belonged to?   
  
Hadn't he?   
  
"(I, I do not remember.)"   
  
_Just as well. It isn't important; do not trouble yourself about it._   
  
"(No.)" This bothered him that his loyalty was in doubt even to himself. He fervently wished to take action to prove himself, and said so.   
  
_For now, your rightful place is with me. There are others, too many to suit me, who would oppose my ascension._. She reminded him of the warriors and mercenaries who would someday stand in her way, and he bristled at their audacity. _Your time will come. I have no doubt you will prove yourself worthy._ The devout knight straightened proudly.   
  
_And now you, little one. Your time is at hand._ Again the voice whispered silkily. It might have an invitation spoken by an elegant hostess and not part of a deadly reign.   
  
_Who is with you?_   
  
"I'm on my own. It's true." True, because she acted against the wishes of the SeeDs. The Sorceress detected no lie.   
  
_He said you are part of the liberation, which will also try to oppose me just as they have opposed this pathetic nation._   
  
"True. I am one of them."   
  
Thanks to the Sorceress' adept magic, points of light rose up from hairline earthquake cracks in the pavement below. Light joined together and became a wall, solid enough to enforce distance between the crowd and the space directly below the balcony. No one would be able to get close from the ground.   
  
A languid point to the podium by the satin black hand encouraged Rinoa to take the place at the microphone. The girl's movements came dreamily, as if her body wasn't quite in touch with her surroundings. Hands steadied at the podium and faint gaze cast out to the crowd.   
  
_You will now expose everything about them._   
  
And Rinoa confessed her crimes.   
  
The wholehearted freedom fighter denounced the rebellion and listed names and physical descriptions of all the resistence starting with Zone and Watts and the other violently active Forest Owls. She continued through everyone she knew, from the "legendary beauty" of the Forest Foxes who sheltered them in her home to all the rest who organized, maintained readiness, and prepared for opportunities to subvert the state in other ways. Thanks to Rinoa's cooperation, their activities were given away and even safe-houses betrayed!   
  
Her eyes were without luster, and tone bland throughout the entire disclosure. But her speech was her own.   
  
"If this message reaches any of you, tell the others what they're doing is useless. She's going to find you. And you can all go kill yourselves now because what will happen when she captures you is worse."   
  
Satisfied, the Sorceress exited with her knight to continue with their plans. She left one final imperative however.   
  
_**Now die.**_   
  
Rinoa stepped out from behind the microphone and podium, placed both hands on the wide balcony, and stiffly boosted body and legs off the floor. She brought one knee and then her other foot onto the platform, and stood.   
  
The stream of blue from her jacket train billowed out behind her, along with onyx strands of hair. Surrounded by nothing but open air, skin of her arms prickled that wasn't covered by the warmers below her elbows but the goosebumps did not distract. She looked aimlessly into the people, gate tower beyond, and the sky with an expression of indifference.   
  
Her throat tilted straight up pointing a gaze of apathy to the black sky above, arms drifted out like a lazy crucification, and the angel's body dipped forward in a graceless swan dive.   
  
* * * * * * * *   
  
Da author: Because cliffhangers are hard on you, without further ado here's the next update right away. Love and peace to all'a y'all. 02/25 


	11. Death of an Angel

  


_Love! And! Peace! (and smithereens)   
  
Ch 11, Death of an Angel_

  
  
Squall and Vash drifted towards the palace-like center of the city.   
  
"Our position is a platform that is part of entertainment, inside the government building. We ought to wait until the heads of state leave for the parade so there will be less security left behind for the building before we enter."   
  
They milled around and tried to blend in; it was okay to be observed freely as long as no one recognized them as operatives.   
  
The president came out and gave his rhetoric. They were already used to it from the international address.   
  
Then Seifer emerged, in the company of the Sorceress. "(He's alive? What does that mean?)"   
  
Vash was unaware of the significance to Squall personally but noticed the impassive one had _some_ kind of reaction. "Friend of yours?"   
  
"..." The expression he gave could have withered a green field. "...Do you really care enough to ask?"   
  
"Whoa. Sorry I said anything."   
  
Then came the final addition to the upstairs party. "Shit! What's Rinoa doing out there." Squall just shook his head. They'd find out soon enough.   
  
The boys muttered in confusion as she appeared to bail on everything she believed in. Then she climbed onto the railing....   
  
In shock they recognized what was about to happen. For Squall and Vash, time halted then stretched forwards at a crawl in the flight for life, as it had when the young SeeD candidates strained with everything they had to outrun the Black Widow X-ATM. As the noisome babble of the throng washed away, all they could hear was their own heartbeats and tiny amplified details.   
  
In the crowd below, Vash's pupils narrowed into shocked focus and raced for the balcony. Tunnel vision between himself and the girl linked the two despite the multitudes though he continued swerving through them efficiently. Squall, taken by surprise and appalled by his brashness, cried out something unheard and took off behind him.   
  
Rinoa had gotten to her feet and spent her last moment staring at the heavens. Vash's boots churned the pavement, friction of hard rubber on asphalt kicking up loose pebbles. But the crowd wasn't going to part fast enough. The marksman reached for his gun and drew, raising it against his right shoulder with the barrel pointed upwards. He'd figure out a way through or over the barrier of light when he got there. The generous man was about to frighten any number of people and sacrifice his own reputation if it meant clearing a way through to save the jumper's life. Maybe screaming that he was a psychotic killer would do the trick to get them out of the way, just like in the city in his own world where Death had prepared a meeting for him.   
  
Rinoa leaned into the waiting swirl of air--   
  
--Vash clicked the safety and prepared to fire--   
  
--And Squall plowed into him from behind, a collision enabled by Haste. They went down in a two-man pile of struggle. Vash cried out with fury and bewilderedness; Leonhart hissed, "You can't do that. It would expose us and blow everything." The gunman still thrashed. "We'll make it in time. Trust me! Trust me! Trust me!" he hissed in the outlander's ear.   
  
Vash gave up writhing, simply froze and gaped upward--   
  
--And the swan dive had already continued rotating forward, sending Rinoa crashing headfirst. Arms put up by the physique's reflexes simply fractured first but did not obviate the fatal damage to her neck.   
  
And the Sorceress, walking briskly through the facilities with her knight in tow, noted the pang of impact as the subject of mental influence died. She gave an internal nod of satisfaction, shut off the luminescent wall, and continued on towards her celebration.   
  
"She's dead!" Vash cried, with tears flowing from his eyelids and his glasses fallen and forgotten somewhere. "Even if there was only a _chance_, a tiny CHANCE, it would have been worth it no matter the cost! She died in front of us and you didn't care!!"   
  
He slugged Squall directly on the jaw, hard enough to knock him down on his rear. Squall grunted and picked himself back up. "It's not too late." Vash glared furiously but together, the two warriors edged, elbowed, and shoved their way through the herd and reached the fallen body.   
  
In most cases a dead body is not pretty. The bishoujo's arms and neck were broken; so was the right side of her jaw and cheekbone. Vash stuck a hand to his mouth, fighting back regurgitation. No matter how many times he saw it, it never got easier. The other SeeD's classes of desensitization training kept him from doing the same.   
  
In the world of science, medical technology accomplishes what is still considered magic to some - - there are plenty of people walking around and raising families today who have already died once before! Hearts stop, anatomy fails, and the human is 'dead' - - until CPR, electric paddles, or transplants restore function. Depending on where you're sitting you can call it "magic" or simply routine.   
  
The brunette gunblader knelt and applied a Phoenix Down as he had done before in the field once or twice since the girl had joined. Caught within time limits, and if damage was within its scope, the tool was able to heal a life.   
  
Its properties repaired the crack to her spine and others, and in a minute she sat up with a dizzy breath.   
  
The first sensations that came to mind besides the turmoil in her own body was the feel of leather against her clutching hands, strong arms supporting her back, and a familiar voice or two. Gradually her body circulated and breathed easily enough for the recovering girl to calm down, and she became aware of pavement beneath and numerous other people in the distance. But her eyes remained clenched shut and she grimly held onto her human life support.   
  
She remembered the open view, the vast air and the wind, the despair and the fall. And human warmth tenderly holding her was even more comforting. At least she was safe now. And in Squall's arms ... why did his jacket feel so hard instead of furry?   
  
She opened her eyes. It wasn't Squall; it was Vash. Squall was standing at a distance.   
  
Vash hugged her like it was the end of the world while she regained her senses. "You're alive."   
  
"Still weak" Squall advised gruffly. But a couple potions, part medicine and part stimulant, would quickly take care of that. The bishoujo retained a slim raised scar the shame shade as her regular skin an inch above the jawline, which would smooth away with time, and that was all.   
  
"I'm fine," Rinoa said glumly. She'd been defeated by the Sorceress, betrayed by Seifer, and ignored by Squall. What next. She tried to get up at least.   
  
Vash helped her to her feet and rebuked Squall for not doing the same. "Give her a break. She died, man."   
  
"So have I. Several times. You pick yourself back up."   
  
The outlander tried to smooth things over with an embarrassed, apologetic shrug.   
  
Rinoa could care less about their bickering. She muttered sadly, "I saw Seifer. He could have helped me but instead he turned me in." Eyes lowered listlessly to the floor and lips were a despondent frown.   
  
Squall was ready with more callous pearls of wisdom. "And you committed suicide. Stranger things have happened."   
  
Suddenly her whole attitude brightened. "Good goddess! That's IT!"   
  



End file.
